Donny van de Beek cites three Man Utd players he looked up to as a youngster

Donny van de Beek has revealed that he used to admire Manchester United’s former Dutch players Daley Blind, Edwin van der Sar and Robin van Persie while he was progressing as a youngster.

The 23-year-old midfielder completed a £40m move to Old Trafford from Ajax last month, and could be set to make his Premier League bow on Saturday when United take on Crystal Palace in their first game of the season.

Van de Beek grew up watching United, and speaking to the Inside United magazine he reflected on the influence that his fellow Dutch stars had on him.

“I watched United a lot [when I was younger],” he said. “Because a lot of Dutch players have played here and this was nice to watch if you’re a young kid and you see the Dutch players there.

“Daley, Edwin, Robin van Persie… you see them. They won a lot of titles and United always played nice football, which was always good to see.”

Van de Beek will be hoping to make as big an impression as the three players mentioned, and appears to have settled in well to life in England.

“Everyone has helped me a lot and wanted to make me feel at home and this is really good for me and it has given me the confidence to play,” he added.

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“It’s a family club, I feel this already from the first seconds I have been here.

“Old Trafford is an amazing stadium. The nicest thing will be when the fans are there too and I cannot wait to play for the first time in front of them. I hope to see them soon in the stadium because for our team they will give us a lot of power when we can have them with us.”